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| Students take part in mock council |
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| Written by Maddy Houk / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Wednesday, 17 October 2007 | |
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“They are learning how to make a difference, learning to make a change and learning to take the appropriate steps. They are also learning to go to the city if they have issues, and the staff will look into it. Some (students) have lived here for two years and some have lived here for 10 years and didn’t know the museum was here.” - program leader Nichole Pinedo  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator If those names don’t sound too familiar, there’s a reason: The council members were not Patterson’s actual elected officials. They were Creekside Middle School students who might one day be the town’s future leaders. “Thank you for coming to discuss the new park,” Sanchez said, introducing city staff. Creekside Middle School after-school program students broke into two groups last week. While one group of 15 students took part in the mock City Council meeting, 15 more students toured the historical museum in the Center Building across the street from City Hall. The mock meeting came about with help from city staff and two grants received by the school — a Cesar Chavez Service Learning Grant and a Project Citizen Grant. The Cesar Chavez Grant encourages students to get involved in community service learning projects, while the Project Citizen Grant helps students understand public policy and use the information to make changes in the community. Creekside’s after-school program leader Nichole Pinedo said many of the students initially didn’t know where City Hall was or how the town came to be. “They are learning how to make a difference, learning to make a change and learning to take the appropriate steps,” Pinedo said. “They are also learning to go to the city if they have issues, and the staff will look into it. Some (students) have lived here for two years and some have lived here for 10 years and didn’t know the museum was here.” During the first session of the council meeting, students acting as concerned citizens told mock officials the baseball park was needed because kids need to be more active. Others, such as seventh-grader David Melara and his friend John Rulla, a sixth-grader, favored a skate park. “I’m telling them make a skate park, because people want to skate, but not on the sidewalk, because it’s a walk area,” John said. “Skaters have to wear helmets, elbow pads and kneepads.” Fourteen-year-old Perla Ortiz, an eighth-grader who doesn’t skate, said she has friends who do.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator Sixth-grader Michaela Homen asked the council for a soccer field. “I think with the soccer fields there’ll be less gang-related things,” Michaela said. Denzel Jefferson, 11, also advocated for a soccer field, saying skateboarding is more dangerous than soccer. The mayor and City Council liked all the ideas and presentations, and in the end, they combined all the requests into one. “I think the park is a great idea, but I’d like to say maybe we should have more than a soccer field,” Salvador said before the vote. “I’d like to get all of it here in Patterson — we really need it.” The council voted for a combined soccer, baseball and skate park. Assistant City Manager Bryan Whitemyer told the students their reenactment was part of how the actual city government works. “That’s what the council does — they listen to the community,” he said. “Now, with this direction, the council has asked staff to create a park, soccer field and baseball diamond.” Councilwoman Dejeune Shelton, who was on hand to give direction to the students, commended them for a job well done. “The council, staff and community did an excellent job,” she said. Still, when students asked about whether their envisioned parks might become a reality, Whitemyer said they are not planned for the immediate future. “Right now, it’s not in the works,” he said. “But the city is working with the council and trying to develop strategies to make that happen.” To reach Maddy Houk at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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